Oddo's Bat Crusade

The City Council is once again considering a ban on aluminum baseball bats from high school baseball games. Supporters of the ban brought in the family of Brandon Patch, a Montana boy killed by a ball hit from an aluminum bat, to testify on the issue.

Opponents of the ban note that a similar proposed ban on metal bats is currently stalled in the Montana state legislature, although the Montana governor has signed a resolution expressing a preference for wooden bats.

The Montana bill, LC1473, was tabled in the business and labor committee on February 9th, and hasn’t moved since. In fact, on February 28, the ban “Missed Deadline for General Bill Transmittal,” which doesn’t sounds like it’ll be law anytime soon.

The bill’s sponsor in New York, James Oddo — who has been pushing unsuccessfully for a ban for years — insists that the bill has a chance here because “the Speaker and the legislature here are willing to stand up to the onslaught of the metal bat cartel.”

Oddo isn’t changing his mind, in any case. “No editorial, no lobbying campaign, no personal attacks, will make me waiver from that,” he said.